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There is a state statute that requires drivers to hand over their license, but the penalty for that is only a $100 fine. We still recommend that you keep your window up and let the officer write you that $100 ticket.

Indiana is pretty straightforward. Tennessee is one of those states where you may be required to sign a ticket. We recommend using an app to digitally sign. You can use the SignEasy app, but we’re working on a FairDUI app, hopefully coming soon.

“There are those who are going to test you from time to time,” said Captain Kurt McKean with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. “Circumventing a checkpoint by holding your driver’s license in the window will not work.”

McKean is the statewide impairment driving enforcement coordinator with the OHP and works DUI checkpoints throughout Oklahoma. He says the law requires you to physically hand over your information.

“State law in the state of Oklahoma, Title 47, requires you any time that you’re stopped by a police officer, not just a state trooper, any law enforcement officer in the state of Oklahoma, you’re required to present a driver’s license and a valid ID,” Capt. McKean said. “We need to physically look at that driver’s license to make sure it’s not been altered, to make sure it actually is their driver’s license.”

We’re sorry to report that Capt. McKean is lying. Oklahoma’s Title 47 does not require drivers to “physically hand over” documents. Title 47, Section 6-112 states:

Every licensee shall have his or her driver license in his or her immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle and shall display the same upon demand of a peace officer.

The statute says “display.” In some states the laws require drivers to “surrender” their documents. While we believe such statutes unconstitutionally infringe on the Fourth Amendment, that doesn’t matter in Oklahoma because the statute doesn’t say it.

Inspired by this story, we have created a Fair DUI flyer for Oklahoma. As always, we encourage drivers to discuss this with a local attorney before using it.

Now that the media burst is over, we’re back to work. We’ve added two new states and two new videos.

First up, above, is the front of the North Carolina flyer. See the whole thing including the pdf of it on our North Carolina DUI page.

We also added Virginia which is a tricky state because of a statutory issue about police demanding a “written promise” to appear on the ticket. So we added a written promise on the front of the card. That’s potential for a big argument but sooner or later we’ll find out the hard way how that works.